Think HEART

The Think HEART campaign is a really easy way for parents and health professionals who aren’t cardiac specialists to know the key signs that a baby may have an undiagnosed heart condition.

Professor Alan Cameron – Professor of Fetal Medicine at Glasgow University and a Tiny Tickers trustee – says: “It can be hard to spot and diagnose congenital heart defects (CHD) during pregnancy scans. For babies who remain undiagnosed, it’s essential you know how to spot the symptoms – the quicker you get a diagnosis and sort treatment, the better the outcome.”

The Think HEART concept was developed by Dr Joan LaRovere at the Royal Brompton Hospital in 2009 – and it’s our mission to get its message to as many new parents and health professionals as possible.

If you’re a parent or relative, you can order our free Think HEART reminder card by emailing thinkheart@tinytickers.org – remember to include your name and address (including postcode).

If you’re a health professional or someone who works with newborns and young babies, you can order as many free cards as you need, and our Think HEART awareness poster, by emailing thinkheart@tinytickers.org.

Tommy’s story

Natasha gave birth to her second child, Tommy, in January 2015. Tragically his heart defect was undetected despite Tommy displaying the Think HEART signs and he passed away at 11 days old.

Natasha says “The results of Tommy’s post-mortem showed that he had a form of Transposition of the Great Arteries, a congenital heart defect that can be corrected with surgery. Surgery that has a 98-99% success rate if only his heart condition had been detected.”

“Tiny Tickers’ Think HEART campaign shows five signs that your baby could have a heart condition. With Tommy we could clearly see four of them. The signs were there and if we had only known about Think HEART before, we would have shown this to one of the many medical professionals who checked Tommy and they may have been more open to our concerns.”

Remember – Think HEART

H = Heart rate

Is your baby’s heart rate too fast or too slowly – it should normally be 100-160 beats per minute?

E = Energy

Is your baby sleepy, quiet or floppy? Are they too tired to feed, or falling asleep during feeds?

A = Appearance

R = Respiration

Is your baby breathing too fast or too slowly – it should normally be 40-60 breaths per minute?

T = Temperature

Is your baby persistently cold to touch – particularly their hands and feet?

Order your free Think HEART reminder card

You can order our Think HEART reminder card for free. This card tells you the five signs to watch for in a format that is easy to keep in your purse, on a noticeboard or in a drawer at home for easy reference should you need it.

Help us spread the word

Could you help by sharing our Think HEART animation across any social media sites you use? Could you tell new parents you know about Think HEART? Could you put a poster in your local nursery, play centre or GP surgery?